Bring it on, Rock man: Florence Pugh wants to wrestle Dwayne

Fearless young British actor Florence Pugh wants to square off against Dwayne “The Rock’’ Johnson in the wrestling ring.

Florence Pugh in Fighting With My Family

Fearless young British actor Florence Pugh wants to square off against Dwayne “The Rock’’ Johnson in the wrestling ring.

After six weeks of intense training to play a real-life WWE wrestling superstar in the film Fighting With My Family, the 23-year-old dynamo, at just 163cm, reckons she could take on her muscle-packed wrestling god co-star. At a formidable 196cm and 120kg, The Rock plays himself in the film.

“I did challenge him to a fight but he hasn’t agreed yet so I’m putting it out into the ether,’’ Pugh laughs. “I would love to see what happens.

“It would be really funny. He would just blow me over like I was a puff of air. He’s a massive man.”

Inspired after watching a 2012 documentary about Paige (aka Saraya Knight) and her colourful wrestling-mad family from Norwich, England, The Rock came on as executive producer to push to have the film made.

He also has several key scenes in the Stephen Merchant-directed movie, especially the thrilling climax, based on Paige’s Cinderella-like rise when, as an unheralded rookie, she beat reigning WWE Divas champion AJ Lee in 2014.

Pugh, who plays Paige, re-enacts the now famous wrestling bout, move by move. The scenes were filmed following a real WWE Raw match at Los Angeles’ Staples Centre.

Florence Pugh, producer and cast member Dwayne Johnson, and WWE's Paige pose at the premiere of the film Fighting With My Family in Utah in the US.

“The Rock was very much involved with creating the fight, making sure I felt 100 per cent before I went out. He full-on protected me, which was a wonderful thing to do. He also revved up the crowd before our match,’’ Pugh says.

“I wasn’t worried about (being intimidated by) him. He’s a really, lovely big goob.’’

It seems not much intimidates Pugh, who has already been nominated for a BAFTA and won a British Independent Film Award for her portrayal of murderess Katherine Lester in Lady Macbeth (2016). She plays the prime role of Charlie Ross, opposite Alexander Skarsgard, in the TV miniseries The Little Drummer Girl (2018).

Producers had difficulty finding an actor with both the acting skills and physicality needed to take on the role of Paige. Pugh was excited to embrace the opportunity to play a real-life wrestler, knowing “there is nowhere to hide in the ring”.

“I received lots of bruises – you wear them as medals of war which you are proud of.

It all hurt, and it’s real, even though there

is a stigma whether it is fake or not. It’s choreographed, but it’s still you going down and taking the bumps, and it hurts,’’ she says.

“Getting this role was inspiring because it’s not very often you get to play a wrestler, and not only that, a real-life wrestling super star. I’m not a wrestler, and I don’t know that world at all.’’

Florence Pugh in Fighting With My Family

Pugh and co-star Jack Lowden (Mary Queen of Scots), who plays Paige’s brother, Zak, became training partners, with a stringent cross-fit program and protein-based diet.

“We didn’t get given much time, so it was a massive challenge because we had to suddenly know everything about wrestling in a month,” she says. “We needed to get strong and be able to lift people, because that’s what wrestling is.”

Pugh had a training camp in Florida with NXT (pre-WWE) wrestlers to learn about the hard-working lifestyle and fighting techniques. In the film, Paige attends an NXT camp with several ex-model aspiring wrestlers, including Maddison, played by Brisbane’s Ellie Gonsalves.

“Ellie is an amazing girl, she ran rings around us in training,’’ says Pugh, who wrestles with Maddison in a practice match. “It (being in the ring) is definitely a bizarre experience. Whether you do something right or wrong, everybody in the audience is cheering at you or going mental at you.

“You feel like you are superhuman for eight minutes. It’s exhilarating and a hugely rewarding experience.’’

Pugh was attracted to the project because of the wrestling, and also the film’s heartwarming message.

Florence Pugh in Fighting With My Family

It not only follows Paige’s rocky road to success but the journey of Zak, who gains fulfilment by teaching disadvantaged teenagers to wrestle after falling short of his WWE dream.

“I loved the fact the story not only shows success but it also shows what might happen if you don’t get there … it matters who you are inspiring and if you are happy,’’ she says.

Fighting With My Family opens Thursday